The Difference One Stone Makes
by EmEliz231
Summary: The Doctor has met many people in space and time, changing lives. But only ever so often he meets someone who changes his. When he meets Lucy Stone he believes it's happenstance. But in time the Doctor learns that maybe he was always meant to.
1. A Stone in The Wood

What makes someone pivotal?

What makes a certain person more special then the rest of the human race?

Is it their past? Is it their future? Is it what they choose to do in their present?

Or is it something else entirely? Perhaps fate has prepared their story since before they were ever created. Maybe destiny never gave them the chance to be anything else.

Lucy Stone had always had music haunt her. Imagine the worst moments of your life carved in your memory by tragic notes and rhythms. Though it had always been this way she had never known why.

Goodness came to her in subtle ripples, but tragedy came in crashing waves. Ever since she was a little girl she had lost much, while keeping little. Where her parents went was a mystery she had never solved. She lived with her grandmother in a solitary cabin in the midst of a small forest. Her grandmother was kind, but very old and had little to no memory at all. Lucy spent most of her days taking care of her grandmother, having to drop out of school.

Lucy had holes in her life. Places in time and memory that were missing. Most of these moments were from when she was a little girl. She didn't remember when she had come to live with her grandmother or the last moments she spent with her parents. She didn't remember her first day of school, or if she had any siblings.

There were many things about Lucy Stone's life that didn't make sense, that didn't line up. And it didn't matter how many times she would question them, because she was never answered.

On this particular morning, Lucy heard violins. She sat up quickly, her quilt falling off the bed and to the floor in a cloud of dust. She brought her hands over her hair, where it fell in blonde waves around her ears. No matter how hard she pressed the music could still be heard. It was as if the instruments were being played inside her own mind.

The melody continued as she jumped onto her feet and burst desperately out of her bedroom door. "Grandmother!" she yelled, running the short distance down the wooden floors of her cabin's only hallway. The small kitchen lay empty, a chair pulled out from the table and a pot hanging over the open fire.

"Grandmother!" she yelled again, stopping abruptly. Lucy stepped forward her mind suddenly feeling lighter, as she reached out to touch the blank wall. Something used to be here. She was missing something.

There was a crash outside.

And then the music stopped.


	2. The Doctor in The Wood

"So where to next?" the Doctor clapped his hands, standing on the deck of the TARDIS. A tall, slender red head and her big nosed husband looked back at him blankly, "Really, nothing? Anywhere in space and time and you're just gonna look at me?"

"To be honest with you, Doctor" Rory took a breath, scratching his abnormally sized nose "We're actually...quite tired"

"Tired?" the Doctor asked, taken aback.

"Well we have been on our feet flying around in time for the passed year or so...we thought maybe we could take a vacation" Amy smiled encouragingly.

"I thought this was the vacation" he stared back at her, before absentmindedly hitting some important looking buttons, "I thought you liked time travel"

"We do!" Rory insisted.

"We just thought this time around we could go somewhere relaxing. And when we get there maybe we could...well, relax" she suggested, "Rory and I haven't had a proper honeymoon. We were thinking somewhere warm, maybe. A nice beach"

"Relax?" the Doctor turned abruptly to look at her, "Who in their right minds would want to relax. Seems a right lot boring, that does. Lots of sitting and...well, god, I don't even know"

"It's calming" Rory stared at the Doctor as he ran around the controls.

"Who needs calm? Calm isn't very useful is it? Calm is dull, that's what calm is" he pointed his finger, jabbing it at Rory who flinched.

"Well not always, sometimes it's rather nice. And beaches can be exciting. They've got sun and sand and...water. Lots of things to do with water, there is" Rory began to do that thing where he had begun to explain something that made sense but in the end simply rambled. But either way it didn't matter because the Doctor was no longer paying him any attention.

"What is this?" he looked up on his scanner.

"What's what?" Amy asked.

"I've never seen this before" he pointed at the screen, "It's like something calling out"

"It looks like a light" she peered over his shoulder. Indeed it did look like a light, shining irregularly on his green screen.

"But what does it mean?" he asked. Suddenly the TARDIS gave a jolt and the three of them, struggled to grab hold of something before they fell. Lights began flashing, and sounds began beeping and buzzing.

"Doctor, what's happening?" Rory asked, from where he clutched a railing.

"I'm not sure, but it seems as if the TARDIS is...taking us somewhere" the Doctor yelled to him.

"Where?" Amy called out.

"I don't know"

"You don't know? Where did you tell it to go?" she asked.

"I didn't" the Doctor said, once the TARDIS had stilled. They had landed.

"Well then why are we here...wherever here is?" Rory stammered.

"I'm not sure" he stood, looking at the scanner, which had turned off mysteriously. "Maybe the light brought us here"

"Where is here?" Amy asked.

"Perhaps we should find out" the Doctor grinned, fixing his tweed jacket with a quick tug before sauntering over to the doors and opening them with no hesitation. Amy and Rory looked at each other quickly before following him.

They stepped out onto a rainy, misty earth in the middle of a forest full of trees., "Well this isn't the beach" Amy sighed.

"No, it most certainly is not" the Doctor agreed, dragging his finger through the air before bring it to his mouth "Lots of trees, misty air. I think we might be in America. Washington perhaps. Though the why I can't estimate. And the when, it's always looked rather vacant, hasn't it"

"Who are you?" a voice suddenly called from beside them. The Doctor whirled around to find a pretty blonde girl in night gown standing in front of him, her face was slightly panicked but relatively confused.

"No need to worry, we come in peace" he smiled, holding up the peace sign "Are you lost out here?"

"Lost?" she stared at him for another long moment, "No"

"You live out here?" Amy asked her.

"Yes, in a cottage. If you're here to rob me I haven't got anything" she threw up her hands, "Might as well try somewhere else"

"No, nope. We're not burglars either. We're just people" Rory put his hands up awkwardly.

"Well most of us" the Doctor looked at the girl, who stared back more confused then ever.

"That wasn't here before" her eyes flickered to the TARDIS, seeing only a blue police box.

"Of course it wasn't, that's mine" he stepped forward, "Drove it here myself, or rather it drove me. Still not sure why. You haven't called for help from a time-lord in a flying TARDIS, have you?" he surveyed her. First observed her rich milky skin, then her blonde hair, as well as her glassy blue green eyes and rough hands. Something was odd about the way she wasn't panicking.

"No" she turned around as he circled her, "At least I don't think I have. What's a TARDIS?"

"That's a TARDIS" he pointed quickly at the blue box before turning back to her, "You're not English"

"And you are" she quickly replied, narrowing her eyes.

"Well not exactly. You have an American accent" he smiled, "How far do you live?"

"Why do you want to know?" she crossed her arms.

"Because I'm getting thirsty. You drink tea in America, right?" the Doctor straightened his bow tie casually. The girl simply stared at him "We can't just stand around in the forest all day can we. Dangerous. What with all of the trees and murky air, we'll catch our death of cold"

"Why should I trust you?" she stepped forward, looking over him "You're a crazy English man, with weird clothes and two goofy sidekicks"

"Hey, we aren't sidekicks" Amy stepped forward.

"And we are not goofy!" Rory stumbled beside her.

"You're a little goofy" the Doctor looked back at him, "I have a great sense of style I'll let you know"

"Whats this?" the girl reached out, flicking his bow tie.

"I don't know how many times I have to say it I like bow ties. Bow ties are cool" he fixed the article of clothing, "Maybe I ought to just introduce myself, I'm the Doctor"

"The Doctor?" the girl stared down at where he extended his hand, "What kind of doctor?"

"Not that kind" he smirked, "That's just what they call me. And what do they call you?"

"I'm Lucy" she took his hand, still uncertain "Lucy Stone"

"Lucy Stone" he smiled at her, "Nice to meet you Lucy Stone. Lucy Stone who lives in the forest, Lucy Stone"

"Right" Lucy shot him another look of confusion before her eyes flickered to the other two who stood by watching the encounter.

"Of course, that's Amy and that's Rory. Newlyweds. Isn't that the sweetest" he spoke a mile a minute, "So back to where you live. Shall you just take us there, or perhaps I should sniff my way there like a hound"

"That would be interesting" she looked back at him.

"Cheeky. Noted" he waggled his finger.

"This way" she smirked, turning to lead them back to her empty cabin.


	3. The Cabin

The cabin was like something out of a fairy tale. Lying solitary in the middle of a forest, surrounded by green and flowers that twined over the sides of it. A stream flowing behind it.

"Doctor, what are we still doing here?" Amy muttered under her breath as they followed Lucy Stone through the trees.

"Isn't it obvious?" he stared forward at the cabin. "Something has called me here. Something about this forest isn't right. Why is this Lucy Stone the only one who lives in the vast miles of trees? Where is the rest of civilization?"

"Maybe she's crazy?" Amy shrugged.

"She's not" he said firmly.

"How can you tell?"

"I'm the Doctor, I can just tell" he looked quickly at her before catching up to Lucy, "This cabin is fantastic. Do you live alone?"

"Well..." she paused, the rest of them stopping as well. Rory bumped into Amy's back, not noticing. "Yeah, I do"

"What was that?" the Doctor turned to look at her.

"What was what?"

"You hesitated when you answered that" he said.

"No I didn't" she shook her head.

"Yes you did. But why? Why would someone hesitate when answering a question like that. You either live alone or you don't. You wouldn't need to think about it" he thought aloud to himself, "Where is your family?" he asked.

"My family?"

"Your mum, your dad. Any brothers, sisters?"

"Well...I live alone" she shrugged.

"But where are they?" he stepped forward, looking directly in her eye. When she simply stared back at him, dumbfounded he turned running towards her cabin.

"What do you think you're doing?" she called after him.

"He does that" Rory offered.

"You'll get used to it" Amy smiled, leading them after him.

The Doctor barged through the unlocked door, glancing around at the kitchen and small living room before stepping into the small hallway that was connected. Lucy was the first to enter after him, their eyes met for a moment as he placed his hand over the bare wall in the same spot she had just that morning.

"One room" he said.

"Well, what with only one person living here" she stared at him, trying to figure out what was going through his head. Amy and Rory stumbled over the threshold.

"So, Lucy Stone, anybody else live in this forest of yours?" the Doctor's demeanor melted.

"No, it's always been just me" she looked at him.

"Where do you get your food" he walked over to the counter holding up a loaf of bread.

"Well, there's a village"

"A village" he threw the bread behind him and scurried in front of her. "Village?"

"He can hear me, right?" Lucy turned to ask Rory and Amy, who were at this point barely listening.

"Well if that's what you call it, a village, then you can't nearly come from the same time that Amy or Rory does" the Doctor noted to himself, "I didn't even consider that, we have to be in an early century. The 12th, by the looks of your clothes. But America wasn't even inhabited at that point. Or was it?"

"America?" Lucy squinted at him.

"Oh my God, it's like some lost unknown civilization" Amy snapped her fingers as if she had discovered it all on her own.

"Wouldn't be the first" the Doctor smirked, leaning against the counter "This village. Can you take us to it?"

"Sure but it's about a two mile walk" Lucy informed him, "I had to go into the village today anyway"

"Two miles never killed anyone" Amy smiled at her, while Rory let out a quiet exasperated sigh just loud enough for everyone to hear but no one to acknowledge.

"I'll just go get dressed then" she glanced down showing embarrassment that she was in her nightgown. Once she emerged from her room, all three of her new companions stared at her. She wore a blue dress, with tied corset strings, and boots that were covered in mud. She clipped her waving blonde hair away from her face, exposing her soft skin, pink cheeks, and plump red lips.. Though neither the Doctor or Amy would let on, they were surprised by the soft subtle beauty.

"That's certainly not from our era" Rory breathed, before Amy shot him a questionable glance.

"Alright then. To the village!" the Doctor clapped his hands, opening the door "Come along then. Rory. Stone, Pond. Oh, a stone and a pond. In the woods. Would you look at that?"

"I knew he was gonna mention that" Amy muttered to Lucy as they followed him back out into the wood.


	4. The Village

The village was set along both sides of a large dirt road. Villagers bustled along completing their daily tasks. Everyone was dressed in the same garb that Lucy wore. Men in willowing shirts and brown pants made from rough material. The women's dressings were much like Lucy's though they were all the same drab brown and creme colors, where Lucy stuck out like single blue flower among endless dirt.

Though Lucy didn't acknowledge the fact that people muttered as she passed, it was impossible for the others not to notice.

"I'm not you and even I can tell there's something weird about this place" Amy whispered to the Doctor who for once was silently taking in his surroundings. The villagers stayed close to their homes, each of which's doors contained more then one lock. The women held tightly to their children, not allowing them to play with one another. And every minute or so the people would turn their attention to the giant clock that stood idle over the whole village, as if it were going to open some unseen mouth and scream.

"Lucy" the Doctor called forward to her, pausing "All of the people live in this tightly packed village. How come none of them live in the woods, there's more then enough room for them to spread out. It's vacant. Aside from your cottage, that is"

Lucy stared at him for a moment, pausing in a heavy silence. Suddenly there was a ruckus beside him.

"An apple, the child!" an old woman screamed, pointing across where they stood. There was a sudden flash of movement as the group of them were pushed aside. A child was standing beside them a plump juicy red apple in his hand. Several people grabbed for him, prying the fruit from his hands.

"Bury it, quickly" someone else screamed. The man who now held the apple scratched viscously at the earth until there was a deep hole. He then threw the apple into it, filling the hole over with dirt.

Everyone looked around, slightly calmer before their eyes fell on the boy. A clergyman parted the crowd, grabbing the boy by the cuff of his shirt and throwing a knowing glance to a woman who stood a foot away her face pale and white, tears puddling in her eyes. "He must be punished" the man told her.

"He didn't know any better" the woman said desperately.

"You know I have no choice. The village can't face any more danger. If other children see that they can get away with mistakes more will occur. We can't pay the price" the man said.

"Listen, listen!" the Doctor burst into the crowd.

"Doctor" Lucy whispered, reaching for him.

"Such an attention hog" Amy tutted.

"I'm not exactly sure what just happened? I actually don't have any idea. But it seems there's a bit of an over reaction going on here. If you could just pause this discussion for a short while I've got an interesting proposition for everyone in this village" he called to everyone in ear shot.

"Who are you?" the clergyman stared at him.

"Father Wilson, he may seem crazy but he's a good..." Lucy stepped forward.

"That's enough from those lips!" Father Wilson cut her off.

The Doctor stepped between them, "Just a moment and I think I can save your village"

"You can't be serious. We've lived in fear for generations and you stroll into our town for one day and claim you can end the terror we've endured our whole lives!" a man from the crowd called.

"That's exactly what I claim" the Doctor called to him, "We'll be back" he turned away grabbing Lucy's hand. She jumped at his touch, feeling like she hadn't made contact with another human for ages, his palm warm against hers. "Just gonna borrow your church for a moment. Rory, Pond, you just sit tight"

"Right" Rory sighed.


	5. Monsters are Real

The Doctor pulled her into the chapel, closing the double doors against the sun. "Alright, Stone, you've been holding out on me. Something's amiss in this village of yours and you haven't been telling me. Naughty naughty"

"This isn't my village. I don't even live here" Lucy shook her head.

"Yeah, why?" he asked, his voice low and gravelly. "We'll get to that later. Right now I want you to tell me about the village. The people, they seem scared. And why don't they allow color in? And whats with the looming giant timepiece? Everyone keeps...looking at it"

"That's what your supposed to do with clocks" Lucy turned to face the pews, subtly avoiding his eyes.

"Stone, look at me" he reached out turning her to look at him, taking her hands in his "I can tell your scared of something. Something isn't right here. All you have to do is trust me and I promise you I will fix it"

She looked at him for a long moment, reminding the Doctor that he hadn't been this close to someone in a long while. "Alright, on one condition..."

"Anything" he smiled in success.

"It's Lucy, just Lucy" she grimaced at him.

"Alright then, Lucy just Lucy, hit me. Tell me all about the big bad wolf" he took a step back, to lean against the pew as if he were settling in for a nice story.

"There's a monster in the woods" she breathed, such a heavy feeling of fear hovered in her voice that it literally stopped the Doctor's hearts for a moment. "There always has been. It comes out at night, and it takes people out into the woods. And then brings them back in the morning. They always have something on them with color, the villagers don't know why but they don't bring color into the village anymore. At least they aren't supposed to. When the clock strikes six everyone is supposed to go into their homes and lock the door"

"Because then the sun sets" the Doctor nodded his head.

"The people they don't go near the wood, it's forbidden. If you go into the wood, the monster will bring you back in the morning. But you'll be dead" Lucy explained.

"Lucy, you live in the woods" he looked at her, "You wear color and you live in the forbidden woods"

"I know" she touched her face.

"But then...why doesn't the monster take you?" he stood.

"I don't know" she practically whispered, "It never has. I grew up in those woods, I've always worn color. The townspeople...the way they look at me. It's as if they think I'm the monster from the woods"

"You've never seen it..."

"No one has. No one that's lived. But I hear the screams...at night..." she shook her head, wiping at her cheek "That's all I know"

"Okay, okay" he soothed her, "That's plenty helpful. I'm gonna save this village from the monster, Luce. And I'm gonna save you" he let out a grin, his vibrance warming her. "Starting now, coming along"

The huge crowd had remained in the same spot, just as the Doctor had told them. But not they were all muttering to one another.

"Attention, attention!" the Doctor called loudly, "I am now aware of the monster in your woods. This is the type of thing I deal with on a daily basis, people. So there is no need to worry. I'm about to save your lives" he said with a flourish of his hand.

Amy and Rory looked alert at the sound of a monster, not only that but one hidden in the woods they would have to re-enter if they ever needed to flee back to the TARDIS.

Suddenly there was a scream in the distance. Everyone looked around shocked and frightened.

"Well, that complicates things" the Doctor turned back to look at Lucy just as her face turned up to look at the bell over the large clock that had just begun chiming.

"There's been another attack!" a voice yelled out from the mob. The whole crowd of people ran back towards the edge of the wood, completely disregarding the Doctor and his claim. Amy was the first to follow the crowd as they rushed towards where the latest victim lay. This time it was a teenage girl, the Doctor pushed his way to the front of the group. Pulling out his sonic and waving it over her body.

"What do you think you're doing?" a man asked him.

"There's a hole in her chest" the Doctor looked over her.

"There always is" the man said stiffly, "He takes the hearts"

"Oh God" Rory stepped back.

"I'm liking this place less and less" Amy agreed.

"That's my daughter!" a woman ran through the crowd and falling over the body, "Oh, dear darling girl" she cried, tears rolling down her cheeks. Everyone watched solemnly as the woman cried over the body and clung to what was left of her daughter.

"You," the father stepped towards the Doctor.

"I'm sorry" he answered solemnly and tenderly.

"You said you could end this" the man blinked through tears, "You could stop this from ever happening again"

"I can find your so called monster and make it leave this place, yes" the Doctor nodded respectfully.

"Then do so quickly, our village can't take another death" he turned to his wife, scooping her up in his arms, uncovering the body once more and shutting his daughter's unseeing eyes.

"Alright then," the Doctor glanced quickly down at the body before turning to his companions, "Pond, Luce, Rory" he nodded at them. The four of them walked towards the edge of the wood, watched by the crowd who couldn't contain their gasps as they crossed the barrier into the shadows of the trees.

"How do we know the girl isn't the monster, living in the woods" a voice muttered loudly enough for Lucy to hear. She looked down at the ground, pretending they were never said and that she couldn't feel the glance of the Doctor.

They all looked at each other quickly before the Doctor grinned in excitement, "Into the woods we go."


End file.
